


Send Help

by Notaname



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Failed love letters, Fluff, Foiled Confessions, M/M, My poor attempts at humor, Pining, Shenanigans, Shiro tries really hard ok, Siegbert has bad luck, Xander is a very over protective parent, bunch of tags I am probably missing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-07-11 20:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7069423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notaname/pseuds/Notaname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was caught between desperately wanting to pull the other to the side and confess to just be done with it and wanting to give the biggest most amazing confession ever— let the whole world know, that he, Shiro, future king of Hoshido was madly, desperately, wonderfully in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Getting Help

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy my attempts at humor and not writing smut for once.

In the end, Shiro went to the one person he knew who would be both ecstatic about his latest self revelation, as well the most willing to help him out. He just, had to kinda, admit it to her first. It really was her fault, she had been the one who had opened his eyes to the possibility, all those plays they went to, all those weird books she was scribbling in. It had really only been a matter of time honestly. No one could blame him when she was putting all sorts of strange scenarios into his mind. 

 

Across from him Nina was sipping at her drink with a patience that was both like and unlike her. Shiro had seen her wait for three hours, stock still as she watched two men converse, caught up in her fantasies. Then there were times that she could barely stand to hold still, zipping this way and that, hands a flurry as she frantically wrote down… whatever was on her brain, or drawing a moment that wasn’t quite how Shiro had seen it, but hey, who was he to judge?

 

“Soooo…” Nina trailed off, eyes wandering the small cafe he had asked her to. “You said you had something important to tell me? You needed my help with something?”

 

The note Shiro had left her had been vague. Uncharacteristically he fidgeted slightly, unsure of how to start. It wasn’t that he was unsure about his feelings, no, he was very sure about those. He could hardly think of anything else. What he was nervous about was how to proceed. He was caught between desperately wanting to pull the other to the side and confess to just be done with it and wanting to give the biggest most amazing confession ever— let the whole world know, that he, Shiro, future king of Hoshido was madly, desperately, wonderfully in love. 

 

He was almost frantic to confess his feelings to the other, to get an answer (hopefully a yes) and then they could begin their epic adventure in love. What he needed help with, and why he had asked Nina here (inside help) was because this was a somewhat, delicate matter. The person he was madly in love with probably wouldn’t believe him if he did actually confess. It was amazing with how perceptive his hopefully soon-to-be-boyfriend was that he had failed to notice already. This was the first time he had spent his free time apart from the blonde’s side in a week. Deciding to just admit it, Shiro braced himself for Nina’s reaction as he wet his lips and finally admitted to why he had asked her here.   

 

“I am in love with a boy and I need your help confessing to him.” The resulting scream and following thump as Nina hit the ground in a dead faint, a look of pure bliss on her face was enough to draw just a few looks. 

 

When Shiro finally managed to revive his friend, he had to hold her steady when she started to giggle madly at him, threatening to faint once more. It took at least a half an hour for the excited giggling (interrupted occasionally by hiccups) to settle down. The two of them had been asked to leave as Nina was scaring away customers. Shiro had hurriedly paid and lead the blissed out girl to the exit.

 

The two of them eventually ended up in Shiro’s tent. As much as Nina was his friend he was starting to get a little impatient. He had come to her for help with his problem and while he was happy that she was so excited for him, he wanted to confess sometime in the near (very near, right now, he wanted to confess right now) future. “Are you feeling better now?” He couldn’t keep a bit of his impatience from his voice.

 

Nina seemed to be coming back around, her smile seemingly cutting her face in half with how wide it was. Clasping her hands together she leaned forward, eager to pry more news out of him now that she had recovered from the shock of it all. “Who is it? You have to tell me? How did you realize that they were the one? Oh I am so excited! This might be the best day of my life. I have to know who it is? Is it Asugi? I bet it is, you two would look so cute together! I always knew there was something between the two of you. Or maybe Shigure, oh that would be so romantic! You know Iggy would be really cute with you as well.” Nina sighed her eyes closing in bliss as she probably started to let her imagination run wild with images of Shiro confessing to various boys around the camp.

 

Shiro though felt a little annoyed, she hadn’t named the actual person he was interested in. Was it that strange? Now that he thought about it, he thought he remembered hearing some rumors that she was mad at him at the moment, something about constantly interrupting her fantasies… Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Though he figured it might be a good idea to put a stop to her current daydreaming before it could go far, he reached out again and shook her shoulder. “Nina stop, it isn’t any of them.” 

 

He watched as she paused, head tilting to the side as she frowned at him. “Really? I thought for sure with Asugi… You two seem rather close.”

 

“Really?” Shiro had never really thought about Asugi that way. After a moment of consideration, Shiro tried to see it through whatever crazy lenses Nina saw the world through. ‘I guess I can see it a little, if I turn my head sideways.’ Shrugging it off he decided to clear the air, to get down the the meat of things. The sooner he did, the sooner he could get help. “I mean, I guess we are pretty close. But that isn’t who I like though. I lik-”

 

“Ah! Don’t tell me!” Nina screeched, pretty much jumping at him and covering his mouth with her hands. “I want to guess! I need to see how accurate my own findings are! Obviously they need some fine tuning if I didn’t guess right!”

 

Not able to really say anything around Nina’s hands, Shiro just raised an eyebrow at the girl before reluctantly agreeing. Why couldn’t he just tell her?

 

Cautiously the girl pulled her hands away from his mouth so he could answer. “You said it isn’t Shigure right?” 

 

“Right.” 

 

“It isn’t Ignatius either?”

 

“No.” Shiro wasn’t all that sure he had ever spoken more than two words to the giant of a teen. What an odd third guess.

 

Tossing her head from side to side, a frown pulling at her lips as she tapped her chin in thought. “You know, it is ok to feel that way about Forrest. It doesn’t mean you really have a crush on a boy, not when he looks more feminine than half of the camp. He has the spi-”

 

“Not Forest!” Shiro had to interrupt, it seemed like she would go on forever if he didn’t. While she didn’t really like being interrupted, Nina didn’t say anything as she went back to thinking about her next guess. Maybe this time she would see the forest for all the tree’s. Heh, that was bad Shiro. 

 

“Oh! Dwyer! He does cut a rather dashing figure when he is wearing that butler uniform of his.” She seemed so sure.

 

“Not Dwyer. Look, why don’t you just let me tell you?” He didn’t dare blurt it out as she rounded on him with a glare. 

 

“Don’t you dare tell me!” She hissed. Tugging on one of her braids as she thought on it further she ventured a hesitant guess. “Hisami? Maybe his interest in pickles has gotten you interested in his ‘pickle’?” 

 

Shiro couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. What was she thinking? He felt his face turn as red as his aunt Hinoka’s hair. While Shiro didn’t have any problems with Hisami his crush was most definitely not on him. “Try again!” He almost yelled at her, his face still red, he didn’t think he could possibly be more embarrassed. 

 

He was proven wrong approximately ten seconds later as she proved that yes, she could go lower. “Are you interested in riding Percy’s ‘wyvern’? He is a little young… Are you… are you into younger guys? I mean, I know he is a tough kid bu-”

 

This time it was Shiro’s hand that rushed to cover her mouth. What was wrong with this girl? Where did she get these crazy ideas? “No! Just let me tell you! Stop just making wild guesses, it isn’t that hard to figure out!” How had she not guessed? He spent almost every waking moment with the other boy.  

 

Suddenly she gasped, her eyes going wide. Finally she got it. About damn time. Shiro withdrew his hand from her mouth so she could finally talk sense. Before he knew it his hands were clasped in hers as she looked at him earnestly. “Forbidden love between cousins! You mustn't Shiro! He is too young! You must turn your amorous eyes elsewhere!” 

 

“Eh?” Wait… what? His cousin? He only had one male cousin and that was… “No!” He shouted yanking his grasp from Nina’s and glaring at her. “Why would you suggest that? Why would you even think that?” Why had it sounded like she was actually trying to encourage him instead of steer him away from that ‘forbidden love’? “That’s it! I am telling you!”

 

“No don’t!” Nina screamed covering her ears.

 

“Gah! Listen to me!” Shiro yelled as he lunged forward trying to pry her hands from her ears. “It’s Siegbert damn it! I have a crush on Siegbert!” He tried to yell over her screams of protest. He knew she heard him when she froze, giving him a wide eyed incredulous look. 

 

“What? ...Really?” 

 

“Yes! What is so surprising about that?” Shiro demanded. He and the Nohrian prince got along great! They were best friends and Shiro wanted nothing more than for them to be more than friends. He loved everything about the other. How he pushed him like no one else ever had to improve himself. The little furrow that appeared between his brows whenever he thought too hard on something. That brilliant smile that just lit up his normally sollum face. How he just… seemed to get Shiro on a level that no one else ever had. 

 

“Well, nothing is all that surprising about that...” Nina answered after a moment, a thoughtful look on her face. “Siegbert though? Really?”

 

“Yes!” What was wrong with Siegbert?

 

The two of them stared at each other, Shiro’s determined gaze boring down into Nina’s clear eyes. Neither of them really heard the tent flap opening as someone stepped hesitantly in. 

 

“Shiro? I heard you yelling my na-oh!” 

 

Both Shiro and Nina tore their eyes from another to look at their intruder. There, framed by the entrance to the tent stood Siegbert, who was starting to turn a little red as he looked at them. Immediately Shiro perked right up, the smile that never seemed able to leave his face whenever he was around the blonde coming all too quickly to him. “Siegbert!” He greeted joyfully. 

 

“Ah! Sorry I must have misheard you!” Siegbert slowly backed away from them, out of the tent. It seemed like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

 

What had the other boy so flustered? Suddenly it struck him just what this looked like, him practically laying on top of someone else. Their faces flushed from yelling at the other. “Ah Siegbert wait!” Shiro tried to scramble to his feet, but it was too late, his crush was gone just as quickly as he arrived. 

  
“This is going to be a bigger problem than I thought.” Nina muttered. 


	2. The First Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's first attempt at confessing his feelings to Siegbert.

Shiro felt his chest swell with pride as he took in his work after stepping down from the ladder. Hands on his hips, his smile so wide that was starting to hurt, but he just couldn’t stop. “It looks good!” Shiro was sure that Siegbert would love his grand romantic gesture. He had taken all the sheets from the beds to write his message of love. 

“You think so?” Nina sounded rather proud of herself as she tucked one of Shigure’s larger paintbrushes behind her ear. 

“The whole camp is going to know how much I love Siegbert after this!” He wanted to sing it to the heavens, even if he had been told his voice was bad enough to wake the dead.

“Well yeah, we used all the sheets in camp.”

“They will be sleeping in our love!” Shiro ignored Nina’s choked reaction to his words. Staring up at the huge banner that declared his love loudly and proudly for the Nohrian prince. 

In big bold brushstrokes it read. ‘SHIRO LOVES SIEGBERT!’ There were all sorts of little hearts and even a cute little cartoony picture of their faces that Nina had drawn up. All in all it was perfect. He had asked Siegbert to meet him here — Shiro could already see the look of surprised wonder on his face when he saw Shiro’s expression of love. 

“I wonder where he is…” Shiro muttered as he looked around. He had told Siegbert to meet him on the other side of camp at noon sharp. It wasn’t like the other boy to be late. Shiro supposed he could have been held up, being a (responsible) prince of a nation meant he was always busy, being pulled one way or another. Looking up at the rapidly darkening sky Shiro hoped his friend (hopefully soon to be boyfriend) would show up soon. He didn’t want rain to ruin his confession. 

Suddenly Nina appeared at his side grabbing his arm, tugging on it excitedly. “He’s coming! Good luck!” She gave him one last excited smile before running off into the tree’s to go hide and presumably watch. 

With the moment of truth so close at hand, Shiro felt his heart start to beat rapidly in his chest. It wasn’t like him to be nervous, but this was something else. Everyone was probably nervous before they confessed their heartfelt feelings towards their love interest. Leaving oneself so vulnerable to another was something that would make anyone a little apprehensive. Still, he couldn’t help that his heart seemed to be trying to beat its way out of his chest, or out his throat, or whatever! It was beating fast and Shiro thought it might explode from joy or nerves as he watched Siegbert come around the corner. 

Everytime he saw Siegbert he couldn’t help but fall more and more in love with the teen. It had been easy for him to come to the conclusion that he had feelings for the blonde Nohrian. Weren’t they all blonde? It didn’t matter, Siegbert’s fair hairs were the best blonde of them all. 

Shiro bit his lip nervously as he took in the surprised expression on Siegbert’s face as he froze. Obviously he had seen Shiro’s huge declaration of love for him. His stomach simultaneously felt like it was full of butterflies while sitting like led in his belly. He had never been so anxious in his life as he watched Siegbert for any sign of reaction.   
Whatever he was expecting, what he got was not exactly it. Shiro watched as a look of some unknown, but clearly unpleasant emotion flitted across Siegbert’s face before disappearing behind an indifferent mask. Not quite sure how this was going, Shiro felt his smile falter a bit as Siegbert came over to him and gave him a weak smile before clapping him on the shoulder. 

“That is a good confession, but I think Shigure is on patrol right now?” He looked thoughtful as he glanced back (a soft wince made it past that stony mask) at the sheets proclaiming Shiro’s apparent love for...Shigure? Huh? “I don’t think our fathers will be too happy with you using what appears to be all the sheets in camp.” 

“Huh?” Shiro was more than a little lost. A few droplets of water fell on him.

“I also think it is raining. That will probably help wash the paint off.” Siegbert offered. There seemed to be something wrong with the blondes voice and Shiro just couldn’t pin what it was as the prince made a hurried excuse before practically running from him.

“What?” Left standing there Shiro felt truly baffled. “Shigure?” What was Siegbert talking about?

There was a soft flap of wings followed by a soft exclamation of surprise. “Oh my!” Turning around Shiro caught the sight of Shigure touching down in the clearing, his pegasus landing easily despite his rider’s attention being elsewhere. 

The situation was suddenly made all too clear. Apparently the rain had started a bit early, or something, what had previously read: “SHIRO LOVES SIEGBERT!” now read “SHIRO LOVES SHIGURE!” The just starting rain hadn’t been enough to wash away the paint, instead it had just let it run, smearing it into a totally different name. What were the chances? Still Shiro felt his stomach drop. Oh no! Siegbert must have seen it like this! What was he going to do now? This was no good at all! 

Shiro was shaken from his thoughts on how he could clear up this little misunderstanding with his friend when he was pulled from his thoughts as Shigure cleared his throat. “Look, Shiro, I am flattered, but, the thing is… I already have feelings for someone else. I am sorry that I cannot return your honest expression of love.” 

“Ah, about that…” It seemed like before Shiro could do any clearing of misconceptions with Siegbert he had to clear the air with Shigure first. At least Shigure did truly seem sorry to not be able to return his non-existent feelings for the aqua haired teen. If nothing else he at least had found out that Siegbert was ok with him having feelings for another man. Now if only he could make him realize that those feelings were directed at the blonde himself, then everything would be golden!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I enjoy constructive criticism.
> 
> I also hope I am keeping you entertained.


	3. Chocolate Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro tries again, this time with chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate right?

In the end Dad had been surprisingly understanding about the whole incident. He had made him clean all the sheets and apologize to everyone for taking them, which Shiro found fair. Ryoma had even come down to help him clean, offering him luck in his future endeavors to win the Nohrian prince over. If Shiro was being honest it was one of the best talks he had ever had with the man. He had even decided to go with one of his Dad’s ideas on how to confess his feelings for Siegbert. This time it couldn’t go wrong!

Deciding to go with one of his strengths, even if it wasn’t the exact area he was truly great in, he had picked a chocolatey confession. Wiping the sweat from his brow, it was a hot day, one that was made even hotter in the kitchen, he looked down at his creation. There, resting on the cool block of marble was a perfectly formed chocolate heart with the words ’LOVE YOU’ written in frosting. There would be no misinterpreting this gift. No names on it to get mixed up. All it said was his feelings and there would be no mistakes when Shiro planned to hand it directly to Siegbert himself. 

“Who’s that for?” Came the lazy drawl over his shoulder that nearly had the burly teen jumping out of his sandals in surprise. 

While Shiro didn’t scream (he didn’t!) he might have let the tiniest sound of surprise out. Turning to meet Dwyers bored gaze. “Ahaha…” He laughed, still a little unnerved as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Right, um, it is for Siegbert.”

“Hm…” Dwyer didn’t say anything about that as he reached out and took some of the scraps of chocolate that were on the sides, giving it a small taste. “You make a good chocolate. Nicely shaped heart as well.” He commented (Shiro pumped his fist in victory). “It is too hot for chocolate though. That is going to melt in five minutes out in this heat.”

Feeling a little crestfallen Shiro stared down at the chocolate. “Oh, I suppose you are right.” He did not want another melting incident.

“Maybe some ice?” 

“You think it could help?”

Dwyer just shrugged and wandered off, back to his own work. 

Not wanting to leave anything up to chance, Shiro went to go look for some ice. Running into Felicia had been even better. The pink haired maid had been all too happy to lend him her icy powers if it was for love. It was also a miracle that she didn't break it while freezing Shiro’s declaration of love. Thanking her for her work, feeling just a bit more confident as she wished him luck. Shiro bundled up his gift a nice decorative box to help keep it safe. Then he was off to go look for his princely love!

It was a good thing he had found Felicia to freeze his chocolatey confession. Because it was a few hours later and he still hadn’t come across the boy, by this time even ice wouldn't have been able to keep it from melting. Just where was Siegbert? Shiro knew the blonde boy moved about the camp a lot, but he usually stuck to a base sort of schedule. Frowning Shiro stopped in the shade of a tent in an attempt to not only stay cool himself but keep the temperature sensitive gift nice and safe. “Where are you…” He muttered trying to think of any place he might have missed. When he couldn't think of one he decided to ask the one person in camp who always knew where Siegbert was.

“You want to know where my son is?” Xander asked wearily as he glanced up at Shiro from where he was reading some sort of document. 

It had been much easier to locate Xander, while the Crown Prince moved around a lot his deep voice carried through the air much easier then his sons softer one. “Yeah, I want to give him something. I haven't seen him all day today.” Now that he thought about it he hadn't seen much of him the past few days.

Putting the document down, Xander eyed Shiro from across the desk. Shiro felt like he was being dressed down, or judged, or something… Shiro did his best to look innocent. “What are going to give him?” The blonde finally asked.

Whew! He must have passed something. Striding forward Shiro set down the box containing his gift and proudly opened it. There, sitting pristinely in its little case was Shiro’s chocolate. The ‘LOVE YOU’ was still in perfect shape. “I want to hand it to him personally after the sheet incident.” Shiro couldn't help but beam at Xander, hoping this would go over well. He couldn’t afford to not get along well with Siegbert’s father. He felt a certain anxious knot in his stomach untangle as Xander smiled softly, closed the box, perfectly retying the ribbon. 

“He is currently doing inventory, he should be at the far storage tent right about now.” Xander offered. Shiro had to stop himself from cheering in victory. Taking his box he made to leave, eager to get to the other boys side. Just as he was about leave Xander's voice stopped him. “Good luck, you can always come to me if you need to find him again.”

Shiro made to leave once more but he was frozen by the hard look on Xander's face and the steel in his voice. “If you hurt my son in anyway, I will make sure that there is no where in the world you can hide from me.” Their eyes met and Shiro dumbly nodded, suddenly aware of the fact that Xander had a whole army, a whole damn country at his disposal even to hunt him down. “Good, you may go now.”

Shiro couldn't get out of there fast enough. 

With Xander's help it was much easier to find Siegbert. Making a beeline towards the supply tent that Xander had mentioned. Popping his head in to check really quick, Shiro felt his jaw crack slightly as he spotted Siegbert, people really shouldn't smile that fast. “Siegbert! There you are!” Pushing his way inside, Shiro stepped to Siegbert’s side, practically vibrating in excitement. 

“Oh, hello Shiro.” Siegbert offered distractedly as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Once that was done he set it down and he asked with a little more cheer as he faced the brunette. “What are you doing here?” Then more weary he asked. “Shouldn't you be with Shigure?”

“Shigure?” Momentarily taken aback, Shiro wondered where that question came from. ‘Oh right, I never told him I wasn’t confessing to Shigure. Hm, I probably should have.’ “Oh yeah you saw that. I was never interested in Shigure.” He made a sort of complicated dismissive gesture that hopefully conveyed how exactly he felt. Shiro could tell Siegbert didn’t quite believe him by the sceptical look he gave him. Still there was a small fragile smile that pulled at his lips that just made Shiro want to lean and kiss him. 

“Ok, if you say so.” The blonde offered slowly before setting down the list he was working on to fully face Shiro. “You were looking for me?”

Feigning hurt, Shiro put his hand over his heart a wounded look appearing on his face. “Trying to get rid of me so easily?” 

A breathless chuckle escaped Siegbert as he seemed to be interested in everything but looking at Shiro. “I would never want to get rid of you.” He answered quietly. 

Shiro still heard him though and apparently so did the butterflies in his stomach as they started a revolt. Doing a mental fist pump Shiro felt hope bubble up inside of him. There was a good chance of him saying yes! Remembering his gift he held it up and shoved it into Seigbert's hands. “I made this for you!” He declared, there was no way this could possibly go wrong!

Large brown eyes blinked a few times in confusion as Siegbert suddenly found his hands full of gift. The box wasn’t all that large but he hadn’t been expecting it, barely managing to catch it in time. ”Can I open it?” 

“Of course! What is the point of giving you a gift if I can’t watch you open it?” The buff boy answered eagerly. Shiro watched with baited breath as the blonde slowly pulled the ribbon on the top of it and slid the top off. Unfortunately for Shiro the reaction he had been expecting, not that he had really know what to expect (he had hoped for joy) spread across Siegbert’s face. He watched in confusion as the blonde boy’s face paled slightly, a pinched look as his lips thinned as he looked into the box. 

Shutting the box quickly, setting it none too gently to the side on a box Siegbert pushed past. “I am sorry you feel that way. I never took you to be the type to be so hurtful though Shiro.” Siegbert’s voice was tightly wound as he hurried out of the tent.

Feeling more confused than anything Shiro stared at the exit Siegbert had basically run out of. “What?” Turning to look down at his abandoned gift Shiro couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Was Siegbert rejecting him? Feeling a small stab of pain in his stomach Shiro didn’t want to believe it. He had been sure Siegbert would say yes, or at least be kinder in rejecting him. Dejectedly he reached out and picked up the box containing his now failed confession to the other. 

What did surprise him was as he put his hand on the bottom of it he felt something ooze out of the cracks on the bottom. “Huh?” Lifting the box up he peaked underneath it and saw that some chocolate was melting out. “Why is it melting? Didn’t Felicia freeze it?” Yes, Felicia had frozen it, a few hours ago… “Uh-oh.” There was a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach. 

With shaking hands he opened the box and peeked inside. His suspicions were confirmed as he looked at what he had actually presented Siegbert. “No wonder he was so mad…” Now Siegbert’s reaction made more sense. Honestly, Shiro was surprised that he hadn’t been punched. It just went to show how much more princely and well mannered his counterpart was. 

Setting the box back down he sank down to the floor as and rested his head on his knees. “Xander is going to kill me.” 

Inside the box was now a melted mess of chocolate. Once clearly spelt out in the purest of white chocolate the ‘LOVE YOU’ had melted down and been jostled enough to resemble a new phrase. ‘HATE YOU’ was what he had presented to the love of his life. The exact opposite of how he felt. 

In the end Xander did not kill him. He had been furious, finding Shiro still sitting forlornly in the supply tent, demanding to know just why his son was so upset. At least Siegbert hadn’t admitted it to his father. What saved him was a combination of how upset Shiro already was, clearly unhappy at this mishap and the fact that Xander knew what the chocolate had truly read. It was still a close call. In fact Shiro wasn’t completely convinced the only reason he wasn’t dead was because Xander had decided that his son would be more upset if he was dead. Once again Siegbert was saving him, even if he wasn’t here he was always helping him out. 

Before he left Shiro to his own misery Xander had all but ordered him to fix this. Then he had promised to explain it to his son, saying that the message he had received was not the actual one Shiro had intended to give him. It was still on Shiro’s shoulders to confess though.

Considering that fair, also that he had gotten off way lighter then he thought he should have. Shiro set about coming up with an even better idea than before. One that couldn’t be messed up with letters saying things that hadn’t intended them to say. No more writing on things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews and continuing to read this! 
> 
> As always I love constructive criticism.


	4. Chapter 4: In which Shiro attempts a picnic

In the end he and Nina had decided on a picnic. It would serve as a nice way for him to clear the air of misunderstanding between them. As promised Xander had cleared up Siegbert’s anger at him, that still didn’t mean that the blonde wasn’t acting weary around him. As if he was wondering when the next little blow would hit. In all honesty Shiro didn’t blame his cautiousness around him. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to see the boy give him a weary look every once in awhile, or make some sort of excuse to not be alone with him. Hopefully after today all that would change though!

Looking down at the ingredients assembled before him, Shiro wondered what exactly they were making. Some sort of super Nohrian dish that didn’t make all that much sense to him. “Are you sure he likes this?” He asked his partner.

“Of course! Are you doubting my knowledge of the royal family?” Came Charlotte's cocky reply. The smile on her face certainly showed that she thought that she knew what she was talking about. 

Putting his hands up in his own defense Shiro gave her a shaky smile.“Ok, I am not doubting you!” Sighing he tied his apron around his waist. “I just want everything to be perfect this time.”

At his words Charlotte’s expression softened a bit. “Don’t worry, with my lunch you will definitely succeed in getting your fair haired prince.” 

Shiro didn’t ask how well these strategies has worked in the past for her. At least everyone had seemed to agree that she knew how to make a good lunch, and probably knew what foods the royals of Nohr liked better than the actual servants in the castle. “Right, I am going to tell him my feelings today!” If nothing else it would be a chance to sit down and talk to Siegbert, clear the air. Show how much he cared through both his cooking and his confession. 

In the end it turned out he had nothing to really worry about. Charlotte had proven true to her word and an excellent chef and partner in the kitchen as well. They both stood looking rather proud of their accomplishment. “Let’s try one!” Shiro grinned as he grabbed one of the spare pasties they had made, splitting the flaky crust in half handing one over to the blonde woman. “Hey, this is pretty good…” Shiro hadn’t been able to see how everything would come together in the end but they had. 

“I told you.” The Nohrian woman gave him a wink and patted him on the back, Shiro stumbled slightly from the sheer strength of it. “Now how about I pack this up for you and hand it over to your partner while you go find your princely love.” 

“You don’t mind?” Shiro asked incredulously.

“For true love? Nah, I don’t mind at all. Now go get him tiger!” 

Thanking her, giving the woman a thumbs up as he pretty much ran out of the tent in excitement. Now where was he? Shiro wasn’t all that tempted to test out his luck by asking Xander again. Maybe he should though? He had helped him recover from the mess last time… 

Heading over to the more Nohrian side of the camp, Shiro spotted the blonde boy, leading a horse back over to the stables. The smile that he couldn’t seem to keep off his face whenever he saw Siegbert appeared instantly. Picking up the pace a bit he skidded to a halt in front of Siegbert, a little out of breath and more than a little excited to see the boy. “Hey Siegbert!” 

A brief flash of worry, as well as something else Shiro couldn’t recognize flashed over Siegbert’s face before he gave him a small smile of his own. “Oh, hello there Shiro.” Shiro hated that he could hear a bit of hesitance in the young cavaliers voice. 

Determined to make that go away Shiro had to hold back the urge to just blurt out ‘I love you’ to him right there and then. No, he had to play it cool here. He didn’t want to scare the boy off. “Are you hungry?”

Siegbert fidgeted a bit with the reins in his hand. “Ah well…”

“Please?”

It was the sigh that escaped the blonde that let Shiro knew he had won. He just wished it didn’t feel like he was forcing the other boy into doing something. “I guess I could get something to eat.”

“Great! I made us a picnic and everything!”

There was a surprised look on Siegberts face, which quickly melted into the shy happy smile Shiro fell in love with. “You made a picnic?”

“Yup! Just for you and me.” Maybe Shiro imagined it, but he could have sworn a slight tint of red appeared in Siegberts cheeks. 

“Alright, that sounds fun. Let me just put my horse away. Wait right here?”

“Sure.”

With that Siegbert disappeared into the stables. Around the corner Shiro caught sight of both Charlotte and Nina giving him a thumbs up. Great! Everything was set up! It was all on him now, he could do this! He had this! 

“Are you all set to go Shiro?”

He really wanted to kiss Siegbert right now. “Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I had it set up on the hill for us.” Reaching out he took the blonde’s hand and started to lead him to the agreed upon meeting place. This time nothing bad was going to happen. This wasn’t going to be misinterpreted in anyway shape or form. Shiro would lay his feelings out for him in a straightforward manner and what would come, would come. Since he was leading the way he didn’t notice that there was a slight blush on Siegberts face as Shiro confidently lead him through the camp.

“There it is!” Pointing up at the hill overlooking the camp, Shiro couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy. It was there! Nothing was interfering with him this time. The sky was clear of clouds, Shiro could use his own words to describe how he was feeling. 

“It looks very nice.” Siegbert offered as he picked up his pace, walking side by side with Shiro. 

“Thanks! The food is great as well, I made it myself!” 

That seemed to surprise Siegbert. “You made it yourself?”

“Yup! I picked your favorite food and everything.” Charlotte had told him not to say that, to play it cool. Shiro decided to ignore her advice there though, why shouldn’t Siegbert know that Shiro went out of his way to make this especially for him? It didn’t make sense. Anyway, Siegbert looked particularly impressed with him. 

“Wow Shiro, you really went above and beyond. What may I ask is the occasion?”

At Siegberts question, a slight flush came to Shiro’s cheeks. Rubbing the back of his neck, not quite sure where to start, here was his big chance. The time was here. “Ah sit down for a moment Siegbert.” Shiro started tugging the blonde over to him, taking a seat on the blanket that had been laid out for them. Siegbert sitting down next to him didn’t really calm his nerves all that much. “Well, you see, for a while now I ha-”

“Ahh! Avel no! Please stop!” A desperate scream interrupted Shiro.

The two of them didn’t even have a chance to look over. Before they knew it Sophie and Avel were in the middle of the picnic. Avel’s hooves were stomping all over the blanket, the basket was grabbed between horsey teeth and shaken up like a dog. Food, utensils, drinks and pretty much everything you could think of were scattered all over the place. As quickly as it had started it was over, Avel and Sophie gone just as suddenly as they had appeared. Everything was ruined, including the mood. 

“What just happened?”

“I think that was Avel and Sophie.”

“I see…”

They both stared off in the distance, sitting amidst the mess, not quite sure what to do. “Let me help you clean up.” Siegbert offered with a sigh as he got up. 

Shiro could only numbly nod, at least this time Siegbert wasn’t mad at him, or think he hated him, or… or any other horrible thing. Maybe he should just admit it to the boy now? As much as he wanted to just tell Siegbert, Shiro also wanted to tell him right. He wanted his confession to be as good as the feelings he felt for the foreign prince. Next time, next time would be different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I got distracted by real life. 
> 
> Hope you like it. Same thing as always.


	5. Signs of Optimism: Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This time Shiro goes to the professionals. Unfortunately he falls victim to something nobody foresaw.

This time nothing could possibly go wrong! 

This time Shiro and Nina had come up with a full proof plan. Flower confessions were popular in Nohr. While Shiro had been nervous at first, not sure if it was romantic enough, he had quickly come around after seeing all the possible combinations that were available. You could say pretty much anything based on what flowers you picked, how many there were and how they were arranged. Of course both of them had come to the easy conclusion that it would be just as easy to tell Siegbert something truly horrible as it was to confess Shiro’s undying love. With how Shiro’s luck had been going in these confessions they needed professional help here. So they had pulled out the big ballista and gone to the two people who knew the most about flowers.

“Are you sure that it says all I want it to say?” Shiro asked scratching his head in confusion. This was a lot harder than he thought it would be. So many more rules then he had ever imagined. Apparently colour, the amount of leaves, thorns (if applicable) being on or off, giving flowers out of season… basically all sorts of crazy rules that apparently all Nohrian nobles knew. 

“Yes! This is perfect! Just what you wanted to say right? To confess your love!” Elise was practically exploding in energy. The blonde girl threw a handful of petals into the air. Ever since Shiro had come to her asking for her help she had been more excited than he had ever seen her. Apparently she had ‘Never helped in a confession before!’ because ‘Everyone thinks I am too much of a kid for this.’ Shiro could see their point. Still it was energizing to be around someone who was so excited. 

“Calm down Elise.” Came the much calmer voice of aunt Sakura as she adjusted the arrangement and removed one of the petals from where it had landed. “There we go.” Pulling one imperfect petal (Shiro had kind of liked that petal, it had given the flower more character) from one of the roses she tossed it aside and stood back to admire her work. “It looks perfect Shiro.”

Looking at the arrangement himself, Shiro couldn’t help but be a little confused. “Does it?” He didn’t understand this at all. Apparently Siegbert did though. Despite his confusion, both Elise and Sakura had insisted that the message was obvious and it was even more obvious who had sent it. 

“It looks great! Now go give them to him!” Shiro had a feeling Elise was going to follow him and watch the whole time. 

Giving a nervous laugh Shiro rubbed the back of his neck before picking the bouquet up gingerly. “Well, here goes nothing!” Upon hearing out what he planned to do next and hearing whom he had recruited into helping him properly convey the message, Xander had told him where Siegbert would be at various times in the day. It had still been like pulling teeth from the man, eventually even his father had had to step in to get him to admit it. Armed with that knowledge, a bouquet of flowers that apparently said Shiro was desperately and madly in love with Siegbert, he was off to find his not-quite-a-lady-love.

He was easy to find, exactly where Xander had said he would be, studying like the good prince he was. “Hello Siegbert!” Shiro tried to inject as much cheer into his voice as he could — because according to his associates Siegbert would take one look at the flowers and instantly know. 

“Oh hello Shiro. Give me just a moment I need to-” Shiro never got to find out Siegbert needed to do as the boy suddenly erupted into a sneezing fit. Feeling a little awkward standing there while his friend was clearly afflicted with something, the spearmaster gently set the flower arrangement down and went to pat Siegbert on the back, hoping to calm the boy. 

“You ok there buddy?” Shiro was starting to get concerned, Siegberts face was turning awfully red from the lack of air. 

Ok, he was getting more than a little concerned. When Siegbert wasn’t able to answer Shiro felt a spike of panic stab through his heart. “Elise!” He desperately called, he had seen the girl not so stealthily following him, she had to be close by. Sure enough he was right, at his desperate call the bouncy blonde burst into the tent, along with aunt Sakura (he was surprised she was following him as well). It only took the two experienced healers a second to ascertain what the problem was.

Or well, it took them a moment to see that Siegbert needed help. None of them could figure out what exactly was wrong. He had stopped coughing, but only because his throat had closed up too much for him to really cough anymore — Shiro hoped he didn’t suffocate. This was starting to turn out bad though, Siegberts eyes had also swollen up and he couldn’t really see them anymore and… and… he just looked miserable. Shiro couldn’t help but think that for some reason this was all his fault.

Eventually one of them (Sakura) had recognized the symptoms of an allergic reaction. Not sure what had brought it on, the two young healers had Shiro pick the tall teen up and carry him out of the tent. The recovery wasn’t very quick but it was immediately noticeable that he had been removed from whatever it was that was making him react this way. 

Now that he was actually breathing, a little more laboriously than usual, the brunette started to think on what could have caused such a reaction. Siegbert had been studying for a while from the looks of it. It had only been a few minutes after Shiro had entered with… with the flowers. Oh, it was all his fault. Of course it was. Everytime he seemed to see his object of affection now something horrible seemed to happen. Hell, he had almost managed to kill the other boy this time. Maybe he should just stay away forever, even if the very thought of that made his heart hurt. 

“Are you ok Shiro?” Aunt Sakura’s gentle voice broke through the pity party he was hosting for himself. 

“I did this.” Not looking up to see the confused look on the shy woman's face he gently tangled his fingers in the blonde curls at the nape of the other teens neck. “It was the flowers he reacted to.”

“Maybe, but you didn’t know. It was a good intention.” The pink haired healers words soothed his guilt, it didn’t go away completely but it did help. “Come on Shiro, let’s leave Elise to take care of Siegbert, there isn’t much you can do here.”

“Xander is going to kill me.” Shiro murmured. 

At his words Sakura pailed a bit. “Let’s go find your dad.” Ryoma was the only one who could maybe hold back the man’s overprotective worry. At least long enough for Shiro to escape, this time there might be no saving him at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I actually had this one done already and kept forgetting to post it. Now I am out of pre- written chapters. Sorry again about the wait. I hope you enjoy this!


	6. Stopped Before Even Starting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro writes a love letter.

“‘Your hair is like curly ramen noodles and while that isn’t my favorite food you make me think that it could be?’” A deep sigh escaped Ryoma as he brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose and rubbed. “Shiro…” 

Not sensing his Dad’s dislike Shiro perked up, sitting up a little straighter, eager to get some feedback on the letter he had written. His mom had given him the idea, saying that dad sent her letters all the time, from what he could see of them they were very romantic as well. So he had decided to try his hand at it, after all, if Dad could do it then he could do it just as well. 

“Shiro.” Ryoma repeated, as if he was lost for words. Probably amazed by Shiro’s masterful wordplay.

“Yeah? What did you think? Really good right? I really like the part about his eyes.” Shiro sat forward like an eager puppy ready to be praised.

Flipping to the previous page Ryoma found the part that Shiro was referencing. “‘You have soft eyes, like a cow’s.’ This part?” There was a sort of strain in Ryoma’s voice.

“Yeah! I was really proud of it.” He had spent all night working on this letter, trying to get all of his feelings out, really pour his heart out in this letter. If he was honest then there could be no way his feelings and intentions could be misinterpreted.

“Shiro, this is…”

“Yeah?”

“This is the worst thing I have ever read.” Ryoma managed to groan out.

At hearing his dad’s words Shiro’s felt his face fall. What? 

“You cannot send this letter.” 

“I worked really hard on that…” Shiro muttered. He had felt so good about it. “What’s… what’s wrong with it?” 

“Almost everything. Does Siegbert even read Hoshidan?” Sighing Ryoma set the letter down and scooted over so he was sitting close enough to wrap his arm around Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro, don’t feel bad.” He started, rubbing his hand over Shiro’s shoulder in a hopefully comforting, but really just awkward, manor. “You just need practice.” His voice was tight, as if he was trying to hide his disappointment. “You can write all the letters you want but you only get one chance to truly tell your feelings to Siegbert. I don’t want you to hurt your chances.” 

At his dad’s words Shiro felt like maybe his situation was hopeless. Everything he did didn’t seem good enough, or it got messed up somehow. Maybe the gods were telling him that this wasn’t meant to be? That he should give up on his feelings for the Nohrian prince. It didn’t seem right, how could his feelings for Siegbert be wrong? Was he not good enough for him? 

“Haven’t I already done that enough?” It had been weeks since he had last spoken to Seigbert. With his recovery from the flowers incident and part of Xander’s conditions for not executing Shiro on the spot for harming his baby boy; was that he had to stay away unless Siegbert himself approached him. Which wasn’t exactly an issue, one of the first things the blonde had done was seek Shiro out and try to talk to him. No, the issue came from his own dad forcing him to stay away from Siegbert and any attempt at confessing again unless it been run by, and approved of by both Xander and himself. It had been an unpleasant game of cat and mouse lately. Siegbert seemed to be everywhere, either inquiring as to where Shiro was or just the fact that they shared a surprising amount of the same interests. 

“Don’t be discouraged Shiro. I wasn’t very good when I first started writing letters.” Ryoma offered.

“Really?” Even Dad hadn’t been perfect at something from the start?

“Well, I can’t say I was ‘your hair looks like noodles’ bad.” Ryoma started. He must have caught sight of Shiro’s face before he quickly pressed on. “I wasn’t very good though.”

“Hm…” Dad wasn’t the best at comforting people it seemed, at least he was trying. Shiro might appreciate his efforts more later, but right now they didn’t really help.

“Ah, how about we do something else?” Ryoma quickly suggested.

“Like what?” 

“Hm, well, what if you ask Subaki’s daughter if there is anything from her romance novels that could help?” It seemed like Ryoma was the latest victim of Corrin and Caeldori’s obsessive efforts to make others read romance novels. Still it wasn’t a bad idea! 

“Ok!” Caeldori wouldn’t lead him wrong like Nina. That girl was too sneaky for Shiro it seemed. He needed a straightforward but grand approach that Caeldori would surely understand. Plus, she was also good friends with Siegbert, she could help him find something that could work. Popping up from his seat Shiro gave his dad a confident grin. “Thanks Dad!” Who knew that sometimes the old man could have some good idea’s. Not wanting to waste another second Shiro took off, he had a pegasus rider to find and a Nohian Prince to woo.

“Make sure you run it by Xander and I before you do anything Shiro! Shiro! Are you listening to me?” Ryoma shouted after his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience on this next update and for reading! I know it has taken me forever. It will probably continue to take me forever since I am pretty busy. Still, I have not forgotten about you! I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> As always please let me know of any mistakes I make. I am sure there are lots and I am only human/pretty poor at catching them it seems.

**Author's Note:**

> Most of this is written, it was supposed to be Siegbert's birthday gift but that clearly didn't happen, so we are going for what is apparently Shiro/Siegbert week? I will post them when I finish editing, or in some of their cases writing them.
> 
> As always I appreciate any form of constructive criticism.


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